Vietnamese Simple Shrimp Soup

Simple dinners, the quest for every blogger, working parent, busy American lifestyle. Shrimp Canh was a quick and simple dinner ready in less than an hour with the majority of time being used to clean and devein the shrimp.

Modifications Made:

Instructions for this soup were very simple. Saute an onion, add water/fish sauce/, cook the greens till half the volume, add diced shrimp and ginger. Quantities were given but were also more of a guideline than actual instructions. In the tweak notes it said five to six ounces of chicken/pork/fish could substitute shrimp. Figuring a dozen shrimp were supposed to be equal to the five or six ounces and not enough for three people without additional side dishes, shrimp was increased to a heavy half pound.

Scaled for Likability: Good

Holy moly! This was the first time I had ever cooked with fish sauce and let me tell you what. Living half mile from bay waters and surrounded by tidal flats, I have never smelt such fishiness from actual fish itself. Fish stock has been made in the past with the boiling of fish heads/bones/shrimp heads/tails and it did not smell as bad as this fish sauce. Boy howdy.

Nose smells were avoided and dinner was carried on. Luckily, once all ingredients were mixed and allowed to mellow into each other, the fish smell dissipated leaving it is wake a clear broth, simple tasting soup. Soups are never this simple and take hours to prepare (except egg drop which is even easier than this soup). It was the simple ease of this soup causing me to make it and it was good with room for improvements. This simple soup would have been better with mushrooms instead of shrimp and added bean sprouts for some crunch. A splash (tablespoon or two) of soy added to the broth would have gone a long way to enhance the flavor and still resulted in clear broth, just a little darker. A packet of unami powder would also have been great, too. The recipe states any green can be used but after having made this with chard I would lead away from spinach as it would not hold up well and might become soggy.

If made again, it will need to be served with a filling side dish like fried rice or egg rolls or maybe even potstickers. Something with substance.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

Search This Blog